Restless
by wildshipper
Summary: Hearing the sound of a upset Freedom Fighter, Smellerbee, being the new leader follows the cry and ends up trying to comfort herself along with a heart broken 'Duke, in hope that they can each get a bit of sleep.


Frogs, Crickets and Cat-Owls That was really the only sound to be heard for miles, Every other creature was either quietly prowling, or sleeping.

Smellerbee looked down from the splintery wooden platform from which she was seated, The ground hidden through the many feet of tree limbs and leafs. Trailing her sight upwards, her eyes locked with the black sky, it's stars shinning brighter than any jewels she had ever seen; But they were nothing in comparison to the moon, It's beauty out shined the sun in Smellerbee's eyes, Maybe because no matter how dark life seemed to get, she could always rely on that spark of light to shine down on her, allow her a way of freedom when the world turned black, Smellerbee wasn't much for religion, but one spirit she had never doubted was the moon spirit, even the night her village was burned to ashes, she remembered looking to the moon for comfort- _Wait, was that-...?_ she cut her thoughts short as she heard a new sound breaking the steady beat of the night.

It was absolutely a familiar sound, she heard someone crying, living with so many children, that sound was often heard, but something wasn't quite right, it struck her odd as how abruptly it began.

She didn't take a second thought before she lifted herself to her feet and began walking towards the noise, it didn't sound too awfully far away, in fact, the sound only came from two platforms away, from The Duke's tent. With a furrowed brow Smellerbee entered the tent, her eyes locking on the small bundled lump on the sleeping mat, the form hardly distinguishable from every other shape and shadow cast in his tent. "Uh... 'Duke?" Smellerbee called out in a gentle voice, almost a whisper, really. He quickly wiped his tear stained cheeks before sitting up to face her.

"He-ey, S-S-Smellerbee." The Duke choked out a greeting.

Even in the dark Smellerbee could see his watering eyes, red nose and puffy cheeks, It was pitiful to say the least.

"'Everything alright?" Smellerbee asked as she knelt beside his bed, and reached out a tender hand to rest on his leg. The Duke had always stuck closely to Pipsqueak and Jet, but now that Jet was...gone, and Pipsqueak was out of missions most of the time, (considering he was the strongest out of all of the fighters) until the war cleared up, he was definitely needed. And now he wasn't sure where to turn, and Smellerbee couldn't help but melt with sympathy around him, even though everyone knows she isn't the sympathetic type...at all.

"Yeah, i-i'm fine." he lied with a sniffle.

"Did you have another bad dream?" She asked knowingly, since Jet had been away, The Duke had been having one nightmare after another. But it was understandable, most of the younger ones had, even Smellerbee had had a few, even though she wouldn't dare tell anyone.

The couldn't respond, all of his effort was placed in trying not to cry in front of a girl, but it only took seconds before his eyes filled with as much tears as they could hold and they began flooding down his cheeks.

"'Duke.." Smellerbee scooted onto his mat, scooping him up onto her lap, her arms wrapping around him. Smellerbee didn't know what to say.. She had no clue.. She was feeling the same way, and she knew better than to fill him with false hope.

"I-I Just want Je-et back..." The Duke couldn't bare it any longer, his face suddenly dropped against her shoulder, all at one he lost control, sobbing against the harsh fabric of her old black top. She rubbed his back and rested her head against his own, attempting to sooth him to the best of her ability.

"I know you do 'Duke. We all do.." She didn't bother trying to hold back the tears that began rolling down her cheeks. Frankly, Smellerbee knew she needed this just as much as The Duke. It had hardly been over a week since Jet's passing, But each day felt like the first. There was no way to resume things normally, Smellerbee had taken Jet's title as Leader, and every day she feels the pressure of providing for tons of children and everything from setting up teams to raid Fire Nation camps to traps to catch their next meal. Eventually, the crying hushed, and the two fell asleep against one another, having a bit of comfort and reasurrence to support each of their blissful, dreamless nights rest..


End file.
